Présences françaises à Okinawa : de Forcade (1844-1846) à Haguenauer (1930)

Abstract

Seen as a stepping stone to Japan and potential base for its Far Eastern operations, Okinawa was the focus of intense French interest in the mid-19th century. Eight priests from the Paris Foreign Missions Society resided there from 1844 to 1862. Though French pressure for a treaty prompted the Bakufu to relax its isolationist stance secretly in 1846, an agreement was not concluded until 1855. These precedents led Satsuma daimyō and Ryūkyū overlord Shimazu Nariakira to turn to France to establish trade links with the West, an initiative that was cut short by his death. Opponents of the kingdom’s annexation appealed in vain to French diplomats in 1878. Half a century later, research by the linguist and anthropologist Charles Haguenauer showed Okinawa’s culture to reflect that of ancient Japan.

Keywords

• Kingdom of Ryūkyū
• Okinawa
• Paris Foreign Missions Society
• Admiral Cécille